Darcie Goldberg taking on new challenge at Chester County Art Association

Darcie Goldberg is passionate about art. And it’s a good thing, because as executive director of the Chester County Art Association, it’s her job to incite that passion in others.

She feels that art in the community is essential. “It’s not just visual arts, it’s music poetry, theater, dance,” she said. And she belives that Chester County is alive with art.

The art center, located on North Bradford Avenue in West Chester, reaches more than 30,000 people a year through its exhibitions, classes and gallery walks.

“More than 3,000 children have come to the arts through us,” she said, citing summer camps and Saturday programs throughout the county. That doesn’t include the other nonprofits that meet in the building. And there are dozens of other venues around the county, including West Chester University, where art is alive and well.

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But now, she is stepping down as executive director to take on a new role -- handling the fund raising and reconstruction of the organization’s building as the facilitiy development manager.

“I’ve been here 16 years, it seems likek yesterday,” she said.

She grew up along Lake Erie, worked as a press photographer and taught at the Art Institute in Pittsburgh. It was through her work as a photographer for United Press International that she met her husband, Larry Goldberg, a West Chester attorney.

She was covering the Johnston Gang trial in Johnstown. Larry was the public defender for Norman Johnston, one of those accused of murder, tractor thefts and numerous other crimes in the late 1970s. The notorius gang operated out of Chester County.

“I could be the only person who can say they met their husband at a murder trial,” she said with a laugh. They now live in West Chester and have two children.

The Chester County Art Association was founded in 1931 and its building constructed in 1953.

“People have taken care of the building, but we’ve worn it out,” she said.

“There are a lot of steps to get there.”

Currently, the organization is in the zoning phase and construction should be completed in two years. Plans call for expanding the back of the building, expanding the lobby and adding an elevator. There will be a ceramics studio, a digital media studio, a lower-level entrance, terrace and shop.

“We are going as green as possible,” she said, with LED lighting, thermopane windows, soy insulation and updated heating and air conditioning systems.

She describes hers as a lateral move, a refocusing of her energies. The position of facility development manager “needs to be filled by someone who knows the institution,” she said.

“This is a great institution to be a part of. It’s a vital treasure, a necessity in the community,” she said. “There were a lot of great people before me and there will be a lot of great people after me.”

“Art tells our story. When we are gone, future generations are going to learn about us from the art we leave behind,” Goldberg said. And, with the dwindling available funding, “the story is getting shorter and shorter.”

On Nov. 15, Darcie Goldberg, a photographer, will be telling her story through an exhibit of her work at the art association. She said she has not had a show at the art association since she started as its executive director and “Exits,” the title of the exhibit, represents her transition to her new role.

“The title ‘Exits’ came to me because transitions involve exits and change. The art center is changing and adapting to the needs of the community and also the times,” she said.

The exhibit features black-and-white photos she has taken during her travels with friends and family.

“I have always taken along my camera and documented the world by photographing the people, landscapes and the cultures of my destinations.”

“Exits” runs through Dec. 21 with a gallery talk on Dec. 15 at 8 p.m. All proceeds benefit the building’s renovations.